Latest KFF Health News Stories
Making Gyms Safer: Why the Virus Is Less Likely to Spread There Than in a Bar
Gyms are reopening with fewer people and more protocols, and they want to rehabilitate their pandemic-battered image. Although there’s not much evidence, they say science is on their side.
Kids Are Missing Critical Windows for Lead Testing Due to Pandemic
Inspections for lead hazards and blood testing for lead have dropped significantly just as kids are spending more time in the places where their exposure to the poisonous metal is highest: their homes.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Politics of Science
Republicans have all but abandoned the Affordable Care Act as a campaign cudgel, judging from their national convention, at least. Meanwhile, career scientists at the federal government’s preeminent health agencies — the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health — are all coming under increasing political pressure as the pandemic drags on. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Elizabeth Lawrence about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment.
¿Cuál es el riesgo de contagiarse el coronavirus en un avión?
Expertos explican los riesgos, pero enfatizan que aunque volar es una actividad de riesgo relativamente bajo, se debe evitar viajar a menos que sea absolutamente necesario.
Viewpoints: Lessons From Woodward’s New Book About Trump Wanting To Downplay COVID
Editorial pages focus on Bob Woodward’s new book “Rage” in which he reveals President Donald Trump lied by not wanting to create a panic.
Perspectives: Pros, Cons Of An Early Vaccine; Modelers Of Sturgis Study Jump Off The Rails
Opinion writers weigh in on these pandemic issues and others.
Research Roundup: COVID; Azithromycin; Flu; Fluoroquinolones; ASB; Chronic Wasting Disease
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Health Effects Of Wildfires Rattle Residents In San Francisco
California news is also on funding programs for homelessness and Halloween celebrations. News is from New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Indiana, Georgia and Texas, as well.
News is from China, Vatican City, Austria and Indonesia.
Medical Residency Programs Should Include Climate Change’s Impact On Health, Doctors Say
Examples of a proposed change to curricula include the relationship between air quality and respiratory illness, and the mental health effects of losing your home during a hurricane.
How Some Hospitals Are Finding Success With Their COVID Testing Labs
At NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, Ill., being nimble was key to making the transition work, said Dr. Karen Kaul, chairwoman of the department of pathology and laboratory medicine.
Teachers In At Least 3 States Have Died Since Schools Reopened
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said schools need guidelines such as mandatory face coverings and strict social distancing rules to reopen safely, the AP reports.
Survey: Low Level Of Troubled People Have Sought Mental Health Treatment
But a high level of optimism was also found, Fox News reports. Public health news is on parental stress, workplace privacy, air travel safety, the duration of pandemics, police training and George Floyd’s medical records, as well.
Doctors’ Unconscious Racial Biases Trigger Maternal Health Crisis
Black women are dying in childbirth 2½ times more often than white women, according to federal statistics, and USA Today looks at the experiences of some African American women who felt they were not adequately treated. In other public health news, a doula who helps women in substance abuse recovery and some exercise advice.
Vaping Falls Sharply Among Teens
CDC director Robert Redfield called the decline a “notable public health achievement.” But he cautioned: “Youth e-cigarette use remains an epidemic.”
Researchers Suggest Surprising Benefits Of Using Masks
In a paper published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, researchers suggest that masks may be able to mitigate how severe an illness an individual gets if infected by coronavirus. Other researchers suggest that since masks hold off many pathogens, they may allow the immune system to work better if coronavirus attacks.
Trio Of Galidesivir, Remdesivir, Favipiravir Could Treat COVID
The drugs are known as nucleoside polymerase inhibitors, or NUCs. According to scientists working on the study at the University of Florida, NUCs work by disrupting the viral replication process.
Strain Of Swine Flu Has Potential To Become A Pandemic, WHO Warns
A small study suggested that 10% of Chinese swine workers had been exposed to the virus, the “G4” variant of H1N1 swine influenza.
Spring, Not Winter, Will Bring Second Wave Of COVID, Scientist Predicts
In related news, a new study among regions that experienced a second wave found a significantly lower death rate among all confirmed cases than in the first wave. And health experts in Spain say a resurgence in that nation holds valuable lessons.
Postal Changes Led To ‘Significant’ Delays Of Medications, Senate Report Finds
Four pharmacies told senators that mail-order delivery of prescriptions drugs have been impacted by recent decisions made by U.S. Postal Service leaders.